Adidas gets clearance to open own retail outlets in India

Adidas Group India Managing Director Dave Thomas said having its own retail outlets and ecommerce channel, complemented by the current franchise network, will drive growth for the company’s brands and business in India.ETRetail | November 03, 2015, 17:56 IST

Adidas Group India Managing Director Dave Thomas said having its own retail outlets and ecommerce channel, complemented by the current franchise network, will drive growth for the company’s brands and business in India.New Delhi: Adidas will open its first fully owned outlet in India in the second half of fiscal 2016, the German sportswear major said, with it getting the clearance to invest in local retail operations.

The company had filed an application with the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) for setting up fully owned flagship stores in July. India had in January 2012 allowed 100% foreign investment in single-brand retail, but with conditions which included sourcing at least 30% of the raw materials by value from small and medium enterprises in India.

Adidas Group India Managing Director Dave Thomas said having its own retail outlets and ecommerce channel, complemented by the current franchise network, will drive growth for the company’s brands and business in India.

“We strongly believe own retail will enable us to take our market leadership position to an even higher level. It will give us additional flexibility to bring in global concepts across all categories in larger stores, thereby enabling us to further enhance the premium experience for our consumers,” he said.

The company, which has 760 franchise retail stores in India under Adidas, Adidas Originals and Reebok brands, is planning to take this number to 1,000 by 2020.

Adidas will also increase the number of stores covered under omni-channel retailing to 200 by the end of this year and to 400 by April 2016, from 150 now.

According to media reports, US-based sportswear brand Nike has approached DIPP for approval to set up fully owned outlets in India for a second time in August after its earlier request was rejected by the department.